Brunei Launches New Fertiliser Factory

A new fertiliser site has been opened in Brunei to help the country to develop its influence in the petrochemical industry.

The factory was launched earlier this month by Brunei Fertiliser Industries (BFI) and Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG (tkIS), which is an engineering and construction services company based in Germany.

Work has begun on the site in Brunei Darussalam at the Sungai Liang Industrial Park (SPARK) in Kuala Belait, with plans for it to be functional by 2021, Borneo Bulletin revealed.

When it has finished, it will be able to produce 2,200 tonnes of ammonia and 3,900 tonnes of urea every day, using the large natural gas reserves that Brunei boasts to help create high-quality nitrogen fertiliser for export.

Ralf Richmann, chief executive officer of the Fertiliser and Syngas Technologies Business Unit at tkIS, was quoted as saying: “Thyssenkrupp is committed to partner with Brunei in the journey by bringing in more than 90 years of expertise and technologies to realise the visionary project and provide support in accelerating the nation’s economic growth in a sustainable way.”

He stated the fertiliser factory will commence a “new era of sustainable fertiliser production” in the country, boosting its main industry of oil and gas.

It will do this by enhancing downstream industries in this sector other than producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and methanol, which it currently already does. For instance, it will produce urea formaldehyde and melamine, which may also boost other industries in Brunei, such as wood furniture, tableware and fibre board.

Europe’s petrochemical industry is also set to develop dramatically over the next few years after Ineos revealed it will invest €2.7 billion (£2.4 billion) into building two new plants in north-west Europe.

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